Surrey Police Service mandating COVID-19 vaccines for officers
Surrey Police Service has announced that all officers will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of November.
The Surrey Police Board approved the new policy at a meeting on October 15.
A release from SPS states, “all police applicants to SPS, experienced and new recruits, must also be fully vaccinated before they will be considered for employment.”
It goes on to say that since officers will be directly interacting with the public, including some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, it’s important for SPS to take a leadership role in protecting the community it serves.
“All of these parties recognize the importance of workplace and community safety in the midst of this devastating pandemic,” says Chief Constable Norm Lipinski.
Lipinski adds, “It is also significant that a policy could be so quickly created and endorsed by the Surrey Police Board and the Surrey Police Union while in the early stages of the collective bargaining process. This is a demonstration of the responsiveness of local control that the citizens of Surrey can expect from Surrey Police Service.”
The first 50 SPS officers will be deployed into policing operations by November 30, 2021.
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